Chapter 31: Enlightenment at the End of the Tunnel
Lorelai had a night of troubling dreams. It was one of those dreams that seemed to repeat itself. She seemed to be searching for Rory. Sometimes she would find Rory, and she would be the college-age Rory, then sometimes it would be a baby Rory. After she would find one, she would continue to search until she would find the other. However as soon as she would find both, one of the Rorys would disappear, forcing her to start the search over again. She found the whole dream very disturbing.
Lorelai felt herself beginning to near wakefulness. She tried to fight it off, but consciousness was determined to assert itself. Without opening her eyes, she reached out her arm to feel for Luke, but before she could reach his side of the bed, her hand encountered something hard preventing access.
Confused, she slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see that she was not in her bed in her own room. Through half-open eyes, she took in her surroundings and realized that she was lying on her side, in the hospital. That realization triggered her memories of the previous day's events, starting with her encounter with Luke, and ending with a trip to the emergency room, and culminating with the news that she had lost the baby.
She blinked away a tear as she thought about the life that Luke and she had made being taken from them, before they even had the chance to really know it was there. In case she wanted to consider that the events might had been part of a dream, she had the dull ache in her stomach to prove otherwise.
Slowly, she rolled onto her back and gently began to sit up. When she looked down, she was surprised to see the top of a head with brown hair lying on her bed. She smiled as she recognized the head as belonging to Luke.
As she looked at Luke, she thought about how much she loved him. She thought about how much it would break his heart to find out that she had lost their baby. A baby that he never knew existed until it was already gone. She would have done anything to spare him that pain, but knew that it was unavoidable.
Gently, she reached down and ran her fingers through Luke's hair. After a moment, he began to stir. "Ow," Luke said as he began to sit up. He brought his hand up to attempt to relieve the stiffness in his neck.
Gradually, he sat up and looked at Lorelai. His hair was standing up on one side, and the pattern of the hospital blanket was imprinted in the side of his face. To Lorelai, he had never looked better.
"Hey," Lorelai smiled, once Luke's eyes focused on her.
"Hey," he replied, as he tried to rub the stiffness from his neck. "You been up long?"
"No. Just a minute," Lorelai answered. "Have you been here all night?"
"Right after you were admitted, I ran home to get some stuff, but other than that, yeah, I have."
"Thanks,"
"No problem. " Luke answered. "Actually Rory and I flipped a coin to see who would stay last night and who got to go home."
"And I take it you lost?" Lorelai asked.
"No, I won." Luke took Lorelai's hand and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Uuuuhhhh," Lorelai groaned as she held her free hand to her stomach. "Like the Stars Hallow High marching band used my stomach as a practice field, which means better than yesterday."
"That's good," Luke said. "You know you gave us all quite a scare yesterday?"
"Yeah, me too," she agreed.
They sat silently for a moment, until Lorelai decided not to put off delivering her hard news, and said, "Luke, there's something I need to tell you."
"What's that?"
"Well, it's one of those good news, bad news things," Lorelai began. "Or more like really good news, really bad news. You see… Last weekend, while you were… away, I found out the good news, but then yesterday there was the bad news, and based on the bad news, there really isn't any good news, but before the bad news, it really was real good news, if you know what I mean? Do you? I mean, do you know what I mean."
Luke nodded and said, "Yeah, I think I do know."
"Of course, you don't know," Lorelai started. "There's no way you could know…? What? You know what I'm talking about? How could you know what I'm talking about, because it barely made sense to me and I know what I'm talking about?"
"You're talking about the baby, right?" Luke asked. When Lorelai replied with a stunned nod, Luke continued, "The doctor told us last night."
"Oh."
Luke hung his head and said, "I just feel so responsible, because of everything I put you through this last week."
"Oh, honey. Don't blame yourself," Lorelai consoled. "The doctor said that that it probably didn't have anything to due with what happened."
Not looking Lorelai in the eye, Luke replied, "I know. She told us that also, but I can't help…"
"Hey," Lorelai interrupted. "I don't think that, and I don't want you thinking like that either. Okay?"
"Okay," Luke agreed.
"So, when you say that the Doctor told us, you mean you and Rory, right?"
"No," he answered. "Your mother was here."
"Oh boy, I bet that the staff really enjoyed that," she replied.
"Yeah, she was a big hit," Luke replied. "She said she'd be back this morning."
"Well, there's something to look forward to."
"Lorelai, your mother was just as worried about you as the rest of us."
"Oh, I'm sure she was," Lorelai answered. "It's just that now she'll make the whole thing into my fault, and take it all out on me."
"I'm sure that you're exaggerating," Luke offered.
"No, I'm not," Lorelai replied, with a shake of her head.
"No, you're not," Luke agreed.
Luke took Lorelai's hand in both of his and said, "Look, I just want to say again how sorry I am for everything that has happened over these last couple of weeks. I just got really confused about everything and it took me a while to figure out where my head was, and I'm very, very sorry if you got hurt in the process. That was the last thing I wanted."
Lorelai smiled sweetly, and said, "Thank you."
"So, are we okay?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, I think we're okay," she answered.
"Good," Luke nodded. "Then I can move onto the next order of business." He stood from the chair, and pushed it out of the way.
"What's that?" she asked.
Luke didn't answer, but instead got down on one knee, prompting her to ask, "Luke, what are you doing?"
He held up his hand to silence her, and then took hold of her hand again. Then clearing his throat, he began, "Lorelai Gilmore. I love you. I think I may have loved you from the first moment I met you."
"Luke, are you…?"
Ignoring her question, he pressed on, "And I have it on good authority that you are fond of me. "
"You're not so bad," Lorelai replied, blinking away some tears.
Luke had a slight smirk as he continued, "So, I was thinking that since, I love you, and you... you can stand me, that…" He paused while he reached into the pocket of his shirt. Luke pulled out an engagement ring, and then continued, "Well, I thought you might marry me."
When she saw the ring, Lorelai gasped, "My ring. Where did you get it?"
Luke shrugged and replied, "Rory and I had a long talk last night, and I explained everything to her. She thought that you might want this back, so she told me where to find it."
Lorelai reached out and took the ring from Luke, and then she stared at it as tears ran down her cheeks.
Lorelai quietly stared at the ring. Luke finally broke the silence by saying, "So, what do you say?"
She slid the ring on her finger, held her hand up for Luke to see, and then said, "I think, yes."
Smiling, Luke stood and wrapped his arms around her, in a hug that she eagerly returned. After a moment, she said, "I love you, sweetie."
Luke sniffed then replied, "I love you, too."
Lorelai leaned back from Luke and said, "But, Luke. You already proposed once. We already have the date planned."
"I know," he shrugged. "But with everything that has happened, I wanted to do it again to make sure that you were still willing."
Lorelai smiled as tears of happiness ran down her cheeks. She nodded, pulled Luke back into a hug, and said, "I am, sweetie. I am."
"Jeez, guys. Get a room."
They turned to see Rory standing in the door with two take-out cups of coffee and a white bag in her hands.
"Rory," Lorelai exclaimed, as she threw open her arms.
"Hi, Mom," the younger Gilmore answered, as she walked into the room. She sat the cups and bag on the rolling tray. She stepped up to her mother, hugged her and said, "Hey, you. How are you feeling?"
"Hungry," Lorelai replied. "Please tell me you brought coffee."
"And donuts."
"Oooo, you're the best."
Luke smiled as he watched the Gilmore Girls, fall into their well worn routine. Deciding to give them some privacy, he turned to leave. But before he could make it to the door, he was stopped when Lorelai said, "Hey, where do ya think you're going?"
"I'm sorry," he replied. "This just seemed like a mother-daughter moment, so I thought I'd leave you guys alone."
"Uh-uh," Lorelai answered. "This is a family moment, and that includes you, so get you butt back in here."
Lorelai had a night of troubling dreams. It was one of those dreams that seemed to repeat itself. She seemed to be searching for Rory. Sometimes she would find Rory, and she would be the college-age Rory, then sometimes it would be a baby Rory. After she would find one, she would continue to search until she would find the other. However as soon as she would find both, one of the Rorys would disappear, forcing her to start the search over again. She found the whole dream very disturbing.
Lorelai felt herself beginning to near wakefulness. She tried to fight it off, but consciousness was determined to assert itself. Without opening her eyes, she reached out her arm to feel for Luke, but before she could reach his side of the bed, her hand encountered something hard preventing access.
Confused, she slowly opened her eyes and was surprised to see that she was not in her bed in her own room. Through half-open eyes, she took in her surroundings and realized that she was lying on her side, in the hospital. That realization triggered her memories of the previous day's events, starting with her encounter with Luke, and ending with a trip to the emergency room, and culminating with the news that she had lost the baby.
She blinked away a tear as she thought about the life that Luke and she had made being taken from them, before they even had the chance to really know it was there. In case she wanted to consider that the events might had been part of a dream, she had the dull ache in her stomach to prove otherwise.
Slowly, she rolled onto her back and gently began to sit up. When she looked down, she was surprised to see the top of a head with brown hair lying on her bed. She smiled as she recognized the head as belonging to Luke.
As she looked at Luke, she thought about how much she loved him. She thought about how much it would break his heart to find out that she had lost their baby. A baby that he never knew existed until it was already gone. She would have done anything to spare him that pain, but knew that it was unavoidable.
Gently, she reached down and ran her fingers through Luke's hair. After a moment, he began to stir. "Ow," Luke said as he began to sit up. He brought his hand up to attempt to relieve the stiffness in his neck.
Gradually, he sat up and looked at Lorelai. His hair was standing up on one side, and the pattern of the hospital blanket was imprinted in the side of his face. To Lorelai, he had never looked better.
"Hey," Lorelai smiled, once Luke's eyes focused on her.
"Hey," he replied, as he tried to rub the stiffness from his neck. "You been up long?"
"No. Just a minute," Lorelai answered. "Have you been here all night?"
"Right after you were admitted, I ran home to get some stuff, but other than that, yeah, I have."
"Thanks,"
"No problem. " Luke answered. "Actually Rory and I flipped a coin to see who would stay last night and who got to go home."
"And I take it you lost?" Lorelai asked.
"No, I won." Luke took Lorelai's hand and asked, "How are you feeling?"
"Uuuuhhhh," Lorelai groaned as she held her free hand to her stomach. "Like the Stars Hallow High marching band used my stomach as a practice field, which means better than yesterday."
"That's good," Luke said. "You know you gave us all quite a scare yesterday?"
"Yeah, me too," she agreed.
They sat silently for a moment, until Lorelai decided not to put off delivering her hard news, and said, "Luke, there's something I need to tell you."
"What's that?"
"Well, it's one of those good news, bad news things," Lorelai began. "Or more like really good news, really bad news. You see… Last weekend, while you were… away, I found out the good news, but then yesterday there was the bad news, and based on the bad news, there really isn't any good news, but before the bad news, it really was real good news, if you know what I mean? Do you? I mean, do you know what I mean."
Luke nodded and said, "Yeah, I think I do know."
"Of course, you don't know," Lorelai started. "There's no way you could know…? What? You know what I'm talking about? How could you know what I'm talking about, because it barely made sense to me and I know what I'm talking about?"
"You're talking about the baby, right?" Luke asked. When Lorelai replied with a stunned nod, Luke continued, "The doctor told us last night."
"Oh."
Luke hung his head and said, "I just feel so responsible, because of everything I put you through this last week."
"Oh, honey. Don't blame yourself," Lorelai consoled. "The doctor said that that it probably didn't have anything to due with what happened."
Not looking Lorelai in the eye, Luke replied, "I know. She told us that also, but I can't help…"
"Hey," Lorelai interrupted. "I don't think that, and I don't want you thinking like that either. Okay?"
"Okay," Luke agreed.
"So, when you say that the Doctor told us, you mean you and Rory, right?"
"No," he answered. "Your mother was here."
"Oh boy, I bet that the staff really enjoyed that," she replied.
"Yeah, she was a big hit," Luke replied. "She said she'd be back this morning."
"Well, there's something to look forward to."
"Lorelai, your mother was just as worried about you as the rest of us."
"Oh, I'm sure she was," Lorelai answered. "It's just that now she'll make the whole thing into my fault, and take it all out on me."
"I'm sure that you're exaggerating," Luke offered.
"No, I'm not," Lorelai replied, with a shake of her head.
"No, you're not," Luke agreed.
Luke took Lorelai's hand in both of his and said, "Look, I just want to say again how sorry I am for everything that has happened over these last couple of weeks. I just got really confused about everything and it took me a while to figure out where my head was, and I'm very, very sorry if you got hurt in the process. That was the last thing I wanted."
Lorelai smiled sweetly, and said, "Thank you."
"So, are we okay?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, I think we're okay," she answered.
"Good," Luke nodded. "Then I can move onto the next order of business." He stood from the chair, and pushed it out of the way.
"What's that?" she asked.
Luke didn't answer, but instead got down on one knee, prompting her to ask, "Luke, what are you doing?"
He held up his hand to silence her, and then took hold of her hand again. Then clearing his throat, he began, "Lorelai Gilmore. I love you. I think I may have loved you from the first moment I met you."
"Luke, are you…?"
Ignoring her question, he pressed on, "And I have it on good authority that you are fond of me. "
"You're not so bad," Lorelai replied, blinking away some tears.
Luke had a slight smirk as he continued, "So, I was thinking that since, I love you, and you... you can stand me, that…" He paused while he reached into the pocket of his shirt. Luke pulled out an engagement ring, and then continued, "Well, I thought you might marry me."
When she saw the ring, Lorelai gasped, "My ring. Where did you get it?"
Luke shrugged and replied, "Rory and I had a long talk last night, and I explained everything to her. She thought that you might want this back, so she told me where to find it."
Lorelai reached out and took the ring from Luke, and then she stared at it as tears ran down her cheeks.
Lorelai quietly stared at the ring. Luke finally broke the silence by saying, "So, what do you say?"
She slid the ring on her finger, held her hand up for Luke to see, and then said, "I think, yes."
Smiling, Luke stood and wrapped his arms around her, in a hug that she eagerly returned. After a moment, she said, "I love you, sweetie."
Luke sniffed then replied, "I love you, too."
Lorelai leaned back from Luke and said, "But, Luke. You already proposed once. We already have the date planned."
"I know," he shrugged. "But with everything that has happened, I wanted to do it again to make sure that you were still willing."
Lorelai smiled as tears of happiness ran down her cheeks. She nodded, pulled Luke back into a hug, and said, "I am, sweetie. I am."
"Jeez, guys. Get a room."
They turned to see Rory standing in the door with two take-out cups of coffee and a white bag in her hands.
"Rory," Lorelai exclaimed, as she threw open her arms.
"Hi, Mom," the younger Gilmore answered, as she walked into the room. She sat the cups and bag on the rolling tray. She stepped up to her mother, hugged her and said, "Hey, you. How are you feeling?"
"Hungry," Lorelai replied. "Please tell me you brought coffee."
"And donuts."
"Oooo, you're the best."
Luke smiled as he watched the Gilmore Girls, fall into their well worn routine. Deciding to give them some privacy, he turned to leave. But before he could make it to the door, he was stopped when Lorelai said, "Hey, where do ya think you're going?"
"I'm sorry," he replied. "This just seemed like a mother-daughter moment, so I thought I'd leave you guys alone."
"Uh-uh," Lorelai answered. "This is a family moment, and that includes you, so get you butt back in here."